Pokelife
by Pokemon Trainer Richard
Summary: Life was quiet for a boy in Viridian city, but on his 11th birthday young Richard sets out on a journey across the vast Kanto region with his Pokemon companions, to collect all the gym badges and defeat the champion.
1. Chapter 1: Earning the Journey

"Richard! Wake up! Richard!"  
Richard's eyes slowly fluttered open as he lifted his head. He saw his Mum standing over his head "Richard! Are you awake?"  
"Yes Mom!"  
"It's your birthday! You know what that means right?"  
Richard's eyes widened. He remember exactly what that meant. He sat up in excitement.  
"I do! I do! It's time to take the trainer test!"  
"That's right! You know where the academy is right?"  
Richard nodded "Sure do!"  
His Mother gave out a deep sigh, before looking at Richard.  
"Well then I guess this is it. You'd better go quickly. You don't want to miss it."  
"Thanks Mum."  
Richard hugged his mother before leaping out of bed.  
"Richard. Put on clothes first."  
Richard looked down at his pajamas and sighed. He couldn't wait to go on his journey. He rolled his eyes before heading over to his wardrobe and getting changed. He grabbed a red shirt, threw on some jeans, got his favourite hat and put on a little satchel that hung around his waist.  
"Richard, before you go, I think you'll need something."  
Richard turned around to see his mother, holding several 10,000 Pokedollar notes.  
"Even before you were born, I started saving this up! Don't spend it all in one place, okay? Make sure you're careful."  
"Thanks Mom!" Said Richard as he took the money, placing it in his pocket. As he put on his shoes, he took a final breath in his home, before shouting goodbye to his Mother and stepping out the door.

Viridian City was one of the smallest cities in the Kanto region, but it was homely. He walked over to the Pokemon Academy building and entered. There were chairs and tables lined up in a perfectly ordained fashion. At the end of the room stood a man next to a whiteboard with formulas written all over it. The man noticed Richard and put on a warm smile.  
"Ah, you are Richard, right?!"  
"Yup! That's me!"  
"Come over here, take a seat if you want to."  
Richard shuffled past all the desks and approached the man.  
"Is this going to be hard?"  
"For a basic trainer license? No, it's not terribly difficult. The things on the blackboard are for more advanced students who study here. All you have to do is answer a few questions."  
"Okay, no problem! I know everything about Pokemon! I've always wanted to be a trainer!"  
"Oh, I don't have a doubt about that. Let's begin, shall we?"  
"Okay!"  
The man picked up a clipboard from his desk. and adjusted his glasses.  
"Okay. The first question is... What steps do you take in order to have the most succesful chance to capture a Pokemon?"  
"Oh. Easy peasy. First you have to hurt it, but not too much. Then you can either put it to sleep, paralyze it, or freeze it."  
"Very impressive. The next question is are you allowed to catch another trainers Pokemon?"  
"Absolutely not!"  
"Well, I'm glad you know that. For the final question, you need to fill out this sheet."  
The man handed handed Richard a sheet with a grid on it, with all the various types written across the top and down the sides.  
"You can take as much time as you like."  
Richard sat down at a table and picked up a pencil. He looked at the instructions section on the sheet. It read:  
Fill out the type matchup grid with the correct effectiveness. For regular effectiveness, leave the square blank. For low effectiveness, mark the box with an X. For high effectiveness, mark the box with a circle.

Richard spent a few minutes filling out the chart. He mostly knew the matchups, but there were a few that he was unsure of. Mostly with the poison, dark, ghost and bug types. How does water and poison go? How different were rock and ground? Dark and ghost? Eventually Richard was satisfied with his decisions and handed the paper back to the man. He studied it, and eventually settled it down on his desk.  
"Congratulations! You passed! How does that feel?"  
"It feels great! Does this mean I can go on an adventure now?!"  
"You can do whatever you want, once your card is printed! Most trainers try to get all the gym badges, but it's your choice."  
"That's what I wanna do! I wanna become the best trainer in the world!"  
The man started walking over to a printer and pulled out a small card.  
"Well, if you work hard enough, maybe you can one day. Say Richard, what is your favourite type?"  
The man handed Richard his license "Fire!"  
"Well, that's good. We have one here for you."  
"Really! Cool!"  
The man walked into a room for about half a minute and came back with a Pokeball. He handed it to Richard.  
"Do you know how to use one of these?"  
"Um... I've never done it, but I've seen other people do it."  
"Oh, don't worry. It's easy. You just hold this button and throw the ball, releasing the button when the ball leaves your hand."  
"Okay..."  
Richard held down the button in the center of the ball. He drew his arm back, and thre it into the air. It opened up, and a bright light shone as a small creature appeared. It landed on the ground and looked at Richard. It was small, orange and had black patterns on it's back and legs it's body. It had puffy man around it's chest and on it's head. At the rear, it sported a bushy tail.  
"This is a growlithe. It's yours now. Do you wanna give it a name?"  
"Yeah... My uncle has a Lillipup that looks like him. His name is Spud. I wanna name my growlithe Spud too!"  
"Spud, huh? That's a great name."  
"Me and Spud are going to get all the badges!"  
"Well, if you want to start, you can right away! Unfortunately, the gym here is currently closed. But there's a gym in Pewter city. I'll show you the way if you want."  
"Thanks!"

The man and Richard walked outside. He walked around past Richards house until they reached a clearing with a path leading out.  
"Pewter City is just that way, through the forest. Are you alright to go alone?"  
"Yeah, I'm fine."  
"Alright then. Good luck, and stay safe!"  
"Thanks!"  
Richard walked along the path until he came across a patch of tall grass. He knew that that's where wild Pokemon liked to hide, so he walked around it. Once he came around, he saw a small building with an open entrance and exit extending out into the forest. Richard didn't feel like waiting for his adventure, so he irreluctantly walked through. 


	2. Chapter 2: Rock Hard Defense

Richard stepped into the forest and almost immediately felt a chill. The tall trees blocked out most of the sunlight and he could hear the scuffling of wild Pokemon. The trees left paths leading all different directions, and Richard felt trapped. However, he remembered his goals, passions and dreams, and moved forward. He chose a path and walked down it.  
"Hey!"  
Richard jumped at the sound of a voice. He turned around to see another boy around his age.  
"I see your Pokeball! We have to battle!"  
"Alright! I won't lose!  
Richard reached for his Pokeball and released Spud.  
"Let's go, Spud!"  
The opposing trainer threw out his Pokeball and a small orange bug came out. Richard was surprised a trainer wouold use such a small Pokemon.  
"Hah! My Pokemon's going to beat your Pokemon!" yelled Richard, confidently "We'll see about that!" The youngster replied.  
Richard Looked at Spud. He knew that normally new Pokemon didn't learn how to use their element until later. He'd have to settle with something else.  
"Spud! Attack!"  
Spud looked back at Richard before rushing at the small bug. He pounced onto it and grabbed it with his mouth. He raised it up to the air.  
"Weedle! Use poison sting!"  
The weedle wriggled around and jabbed Spud with it's horn. Spud quickly dropped it and winced.  
"Spud! Finish it off!"  
Once again Spud picked up the Weedle and bit into it. This time, it went limp in his mouth. Spud dropped it on the ground as the trainer returned it to it's Pokeball.  
"I'm not done yet!"  
He threw out another Pokeball, this time a small green bug with a little red antenna. Richard knew it wouldn't be a problem. He looked over at Spud and was surprised to see it puff out a little bit of fire. The opposing trainer noticed it too.  
"Oh great! It can use ember now!"  
Richard smiled.  
"Alright! This means I can use a fire attack against your bug types! Spud! Use ember!"  
Spud spat out a small flame that flew towards the small green bug. As soon as it made contact, the little bug rolled over and curled up. The other trainer gasped.  
"No! I lost?!"  
"Hah, that's right!"  
Richard returned Spud to his Pokeball.  
"Alright. Here's a few bucks."  
"Why?"  
"Because you won."  
"I get money for winning?"  
"You didn't know that?"  
"I'm gonna be rich!"  
"Come back here again and I'll beat you! My bug types will get super strong!"  
"Whatever. Bye!"  
Richard continued down the path. He went through the forest with ease, as his fire attack mostly took bug types down in one hit. He began fascinated with different types of Pokemon. At some points, he had no choice but to go through the tall grass and encounter wild Pokemon, but they weren't a problem. He saw some cocoon Pokemon, and even a Pikachu. When he left the forest, he was so relieved to see the sun shining on his face. A short walk along the path and he found himself in Pewter City.

As the name suggested, the city was grey. It felt grey. Looking at the buildings and structures - they all seemed to be square or rectangular in shape. From Richard's feet extended out stone pathways leading in different directions. Surrounding the city was a large range of mountains. Richard spotted a Pokemon Center, and headed in to heal Spud. After he left, he looked around for the gym. When he found it, he read the sign out the front of it that read: PEWTER CITY POKEMON GYM LEADER: BROCK The Rock-Solid POKEMON TRAINER!  
Richard thought about the sign. Did it mean that Brock was a user of the rock type? If so, then that would be a big problem for Spud. Richard wasn't sure whether he wanted to go in or not. He didn't want his first professional battle to be a loss, so he left the city and battled Pokemon in a big patch of tall grass outside the forest. It was mostly just pidgeys and rattatas though. At the end of the day, he returned to the city. He stopped in at the first place that sold food and ate dinner. He checked in to the Pewter City hotel, and decided that in the morning, he would go challenge the leader, Brock.

Richard awoke in the morning and got ready to head to the gym. He was confident Spud was strong enough. He checked out of the hotel and entered the gym. He was right about the rock typing. There were rocks strewn all around the place. On top of a small stand stood Brock, a tall man that looked like a strong opponent.  
"Hello there! I'm Brock! I'm Pewter's Gym Leader!"  
"I'm Richard! I'm here for the badge!"  
"Well aren't you jumpy? You should know that I believe in rock hard defense and determination! That's why my Pok mon are all the Rock-type!"  
"It doesn't matter what type your Pok mon are! I'll beat them!"  
"Fine then! Show me your best!"  
Brock threw a Pokeball into the air and out appeared a rock with a face and arms.  
"Go, Spud!" Yelled Richard as he released Spud.  
"Using a fire type against a rock and ground type? I hope you know what you're doing."  
"I know I can win because I believe in Spud! And we trained really hard! Spud! Bite!"  
Spud launched towards the rock Pokemon and tried to bite it, but it wasn't very effective. Brock watched intently.  
"Normal type moves won't work either. You should know that."  
"Oh no. That's right."  
"Geodude! Defense Curl!"  
The geodude curled into a ball, whilst tensing.  
"You see, even though I wasted an opportunity to attack you, it will now take more hits to bring me down."  
"I'll hit you as many times as it takes! Use ember, Spud!"  
Spud shot out an ember towards the Geodude. Once again, it didn't do too well.  
"Geodude, defense curl again!"  
"Are you kidding me?!"  
"Strategy is just as important with power."  
"Whatever. Spud! Keep hitting him with ember!"  
Once again, Spud shot an ember that hit the Geodude. It was starting to how signs of damage.  
"Alright, Geodude, use tackle!"  
The Geodude threw itself towards Spud, but it's coarse was a little to the left, and it missed.  
"Damn it!"  
"Hah! You missed! Spud, keep the ember coming!"  
Spud took a deep breath and sent out an ember that knocked back the Geodude quite a distance. Brock gasped.  
"A critical hit?!"  
"A critical hit?"  
"Sometimes a Pokemon just uses an attack, and it turns out to be extra powerful. But we're not done yet! Geodude!"  
Richard looked over at Brock's Geodude, who was collapsed on the floor. He grunted as he returned it to it's pokeball.  
"Well, I'm impressed. A fire type beating a rock and ground type? Especially with it's defense? It takes a powerful trainer for sure. But don't get too cocky. Go, Onix!"  
Brock released a new Pokemon, a massive snake like creature made out of large rocks. Richard was unsure if Spud would be able to defeat it.  
"Onix! Use Rock Tomb!"  
The onix roared as it slashed it's tail at the ground, sending a boulder flying towards Spud. It made full contact, and knocked Spud to the ground. Richard thought the battle was over, but Spud slowly stood back onto it's feet.  
"Spud! We have to get him down with ember!"  
Spud barked and sent out another ember towards the Onix, only slightly damaging it. Brock smirked.  
"If you just keep attacking, you'll get nowhere. You need to learn to use strategy instead of brute force. That's why I like the rock type. It's high defense completely negates power. Now Onix, use bide!"  
The Onix curled up and started to glow lightly. Richard looked at Spud. He started to think about how he could win.  
If I keep attacking, it just won't be enough. The next time Spud gets hit, he'll be down for sure. I have to able to get a strong attack in. It's defense is too much.  
Richard then had an idea.  
"Alright Spud. Lower it's defenses!"  
Spud looked at onix and leered aggressively. The onix then started to show signs of weariness. It started to glow brighter.  
"Spud, it's working! More!"  
Spud continued to glare at the onix, and it cowered a little.  
"Well. You're starting to learn. Onix, use bide!"  
The onix opened it's mouth and roared at Spud, but nothing happened.  
"...You stored no energy?!"  
"Alright! Spud! Now's the time! Use ember!"  
Spud leaped up towards the onix, and as it flew up near it's face, released an ember right into the onix's eyes. It fell down to the ground with a terrible crash. Brock was shocked at this.  
"Onix? But how?!"  
"Alright Spud! We did it, we did it!"  
Brock returned the onix to it's pokeball and walked towards Richard.  
"It's because you lowered his defense that onix was able to be defeated. As proof of your victory, here's the Boulder Badge!"  
Brock handed Richard a small gray badge shaped like an octagon. He looked at it and pinned it onto his shirt.  
"Alright!"  
Brock nodded at Richard.  
"There are all kinds of trainers in the world! You appear to be very gifted as a Pok mon trainer! Go to the Gym in Cerulean and test your abilities!"  
"Okay!"  
Richard ran out of the gym towards the Pokecenter. After he healed up Spud, he decided to do some sightseeing around town. It seemed only slightly larger than Viridan, so he figure he couldn't get too lost.

The mian attraction of the city was the museum of science. Richard never had much admiration for science, but he figured maybe he'd see something cool. After paying to get in, the first thing to catch his eye was the large skeletal structure surrounded by a glass casing. The fossil had a long spine and a petruding tail, with a skull bearing a long jaw and sharp teeth. Out of the spine came two longer bone structures, which had to be the basis for wings. The sharp talons at the end of it's feet only added to the ferocious and lethal nature of the creature. Upon the casing was an inscription which read: AERODACTYL fossil A primitive and rare POKEMON.  
Richard felt glad that these were rare. He hoped never to encounter one anytime soon. He started to feel a little scared, so he turned around and moved on. Upon doing so, another fossil came into sight. This fossil was also seemingly vicious. The first thing to note was the large scythe-like blades the creature had for hands. Like the previous fossil, it also had sharp claws at the end of it's feet. The head was more cirular and flar, with two psuedo-horns on each side. Richard looked at the insrciption, which read: KABUTOPS fossil A primitive and rare POKEMON.  
Richard foudn this fossil even more frightening than the first, so he decided to head on to another exhibit, up the staircase.

Upon reaching the next floor, the first thing Richard observed was a miniature model of a spaceship. There wasn't much to it though, it pretty much encompassed the general idea of an interstellar shuttle. However, this did make him think about being in a real spaceship. Putting on a spacesuit and heading towards the stars sounded like the absolute pinnacle of excitement. Thinking about it made him wonder: Where would his travels take him? What opportunities would arise? The possibilities appeared to be endless. Left staring in awe and wonder, Richard snapped himself back into reality and headed for the next item of interest.

Unfortunately, that was pretty much it. The last schowcase just looked like a bunch of rocks that failed to interest him. He thought maybe the inscription would provide a reason, but all it said was: A meteroite that fell on MT. MOON. It is thought to be a MOON STONE.  
Without thinking about it, Richard turned his attention away. After browsing around, he realise that what he had seen was all the museum had to offer. As he left, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable as the eyeless skulls of the fossils stared down upon him. Richard headed back to that same restaraunt for his dinner before settling back at the hotel. Pewter City didn't hold much more interest for Richard, but he decided to spend one more day in the city to see what was around. He slept well, satisfied with his victory over Brock. He wore his badge with pride. In the morning, he set off for moer exploration in Pewter City. He went as far as he could, but still found nothing of interest. After he decided he was done, he headed towards the exit of the city. 


	3. Chapter 3: All Out

The next route was dotted with trainers, and surrounded by mountains and cliffs. Richard saw a few new Pokemon while battling the trainers. He saw things like a poisonous snake, a blue rodent-like pokemon and a round pink pokemon. At the end of the route was a Pokecenter, and an entrance into the mountain. Richard attempted to walk into the cave, but was stopped by a boy with a mankey and a butterfly pokemon. Richard defeated him easily, but the boy was quick to stop him from heading into the mountain.  
"You know, you may have beaten me, but your victories won't continue if you stick to using one Pokemon."  
"What do you mean? Me and Spud can do anything!"  
"You'll be outnumbered easily. Brock may have only used two pokemon, but trainers can use up to six!"  
"It doesn't matter how many pokemon there are, Spud can beat anything!"  
"Not alone it can't. Go catch another pokemon. Then I'll let you into Mt. Moon. Do you even have any Pokeballs?"  
"No. I don't need to."  
"What kind of trainer doesn't carry Pokeballs? Here, take one of mine. But this is the only one you're getting from me. If you screw this up, you're spending your own money."  
"Fine."  
Richard took the pokeball and stormed off into the tall grass. Upon entering, a small pokemon like the blue rodent before leapt out at Richard. It looked very similar, but it was purple in colour and had more jagged features. It had large ears and two large front teeth sticking out of it's mouth. Above the eyes, the creature sported a small horn. Richard sent out Spud.  
"Spud! We don't want to knock it out! Just hit it with ember!"  
Spud nodded obediently and hit it with ember. It hit the pokemon and sent it to the ground, but it got back up. It jumped at Spud and pecked it with it's horn, but it didn't do much. Richard thought that that had been enough. He pressed the button on the pokeball and threw it at the pokemon. Once it hit it, it opened up and after a bright flash of light, the pokemon was inside it. The pokeball jiggled around for a few seconds until it rolled still and made a small clicking sound. Richard picked up the ball and put it in his bag and walked back to the entrance of Mt. Moon.  
"So what did you get?"  
"This little fella."  
Richard released the purple pokemon.  
"Ah. a Nidoran. A poison type. They can be quite useful."  
"I think I'll name him Pilgrim. I heard my Mum say something about me being a pilgrim. And I like this guy. He looks fierce. I feel like whatever a pilgrim is, this thing is it."  
"Well, that can depend on what happens. Sure, I'll let you through. But you should heal first."  
"Yeah. I'll do that."  
Richard headed into the Pokecenter to heal up. While he was there, he decided on a new training strategy. He decided that he would lead with Pilgrim, despite it was weak and freshly caught. This way, it would get stronger, quicker. After his pokemon were healthy, he headed into Mt. Moon.

It was even darker than the forest. With the entrance being the only source of light, the further he moved in, the darker it would get. Richard walked around as fast as he could, in frantic attempts to find the exit. He was attacked by massive amounts of zubats, but Pilgrim defended him. On his journey throughout the cave, he fought a few trainers too. One of the trainers he fought had some grass pokemon Richard hadn't seen before. She had a small purple pokemon with weeds growing out of it, and a pokemon that looked like it was made of sticks and had a round yellow head. As Richard continued on, he felt more and more frightened. He was starting to doubt he'd make it out. Every now and then the flutter of a zubat's wing would make contact with him jump in fright and scream. Spud however, was always ready to protect him. Richard knew already that him and Spud would always be together. By the time he had reached the exit, Spud learned a new attack, one in which he tackled the opponent whilst cloaked in flame. It was quite powerful. Once he was outside, he could spot Cerulean City down the hill. He ran down to the city and healed at the Pokecenter.

Now feeling relieved, Richard took more time to observe the city. It did look a bit nicer than Pewter, with a lot more colour. A lot of the colour came from the surrounding green trees and blue water. The buildings themselves also were a bit more colourful. Richard looked around the city. He saw the gym, but decided that his badge would come later. He looked in the bike shop, but the cheapest bike available was way too expensive. Richard knew how to ride one, as his uncle had taught him once. He decided that like, with Brock, he would spend the rest of the day training. He figured that it worked last time, so it should work this time. He spent his time in a big patch of tall grass outside the city that mostly consisted of bird pokemon and rattata. After a few battles, Richard was shocked to see Pilgrim grow brightly. He watched the illuminous shape grow, and once it darkened, Richard could see that Pilgrim had changed it's shape. Pilgrim was now larger, with a larger jaw and a ridge of spikes down it's spine. It looked a lot more aggressive than it's smaller appearance. Richard was excited when Pilgrim changed, and he hoped that Spud would grow bigger and stronger too. In hopes of this, he trained further. Unfortunately, Spud remained the same, but he did learn some new moves. He learned a powerful attack that consisted of Spud just completely ramming himself into the opponent, which hurt him a little. The other was similar to his bite attack, but with the power of fire. Richard checked in to the Cerulean Hotel, and once again decided that he would start his day with another badge.

After looking around the city, Richard decided to go for his second gym badge. He read the sign outside the gym before heading in. It read: CERULEAN CITY POKEMON GYM LEADER: MISTY The Tomboyish Mermaid!  
Richard didn't wasn't sure what this meant, but after heading through the doors he found out exactly what type he was up against, as he was surrounded by it. Water. This wasn't good for Spud. He'd mostly have to rely on Pilgrim. The problem was, Pilgrim wasn't too strong. The only attacks he could pull off was pecking with his horn, kicking with his hind legs and stinging with his horn. But Richard knew that even if Pilgrim went down, Spud could bring the victory in, regardless of the gym leader's type advantage. Richard walked up to Misty, his opponent. She was a short red headed girl.  
"Hi, you're a new face!"  
"Yep! I'm here for the gym badge!"  
"You know, trainers who want to turn pro have to have a policy about Pok mon! What is your approach when you catch Pok mon?"  
"All I need is my growlithe and nidoran!"  
"A fire type, huh? That won't work well here, because my policy is an all-out offensive with water-type Pok mon!"  
"Whatever, let's battle!"  
"Okay! Go, Staryu!"  
Misty released her pokemon, a star shaped creature that had a large red gem in the middle.  
"Go, Pilgrim!" Shouted Richard as he released Pilgrim onto the field.  
"Staryu, water pulse!"  
The staryu shot out a large pulse of water at Pilgrim, but he jumped out of the way.  
"Pilgrim, use double kick!"  
Pilgrim growled, and jumped towards the staryu. In front of it, Pilgrim spun around and kicked it twice with it's hind legs. Misty looked impressed.  
"Well, this is off to an interesting start. Staryu, Water pulse!"  
At almost point blank, the pulse made full contact and sent Pilgrim sliding backwards.  
"Pilgrim! Don't give up! Use double kick again!"  
Pilgrim got up and once again landed both hits. The second kick sent Staryu flying backwards. It was looking weak. Misty was looking a little shocked.  
"Well, you've trained for this, haven't you?"  
"Oh yeah."  
"Well, you need to learn to overcome any situation!"  
Misty picked up a strange bottle like thing and sprayed it onto Staryu. It instantly looked healthy again.  
"Pilgrim! It's fully healed! Keep hitting it!"  
Pilgrim jumped at the chance for another attack, and both hits succesfully landed.  
"Okay staryu, it's time to finish it off! Water pulse!"  
The opposing staryu sent out another pulse that sent Pilgrim to the ground. It was looking weak.  
"Pilgrim! Another hit and we're done for! You have to hit it hard! This time, poison sting!"  
Pilgrim nodded back at Richard, and launched straight into the staryu with it's horn, hitting it directly on the gem. Afterwards, staryu shuddered, and looked weak. It looked almost purple.  
"You poisoned Staryu! We'll make you pay for that! Staryu, water pulse!"  
Once again, the staryu shot another pulse of water from the gem. This time, Pilgrim couldn't take it, and collapsed to the ground.  
"Pilgrim, get back!" Yelled Richard as he returned Pilgrim to his pokeball. However, as he reached for Spud's ball, the staryu shook, and collapsed onto the ground.  
"Staryu?!"  
"What?!"  
"Ugh.. The poisoning! You got lucky!"  
"Alright!"  
"Don't get to excited. I still have one more pokemon left. And it's much stronger than staryu!"  
"Me too! Let's go Spud!"  
"Go, Starmie!"  
As Spud leaped onto the field, Misty released a pokemon that looked like staryu, but was bigger, purple, and had more points.  
"Your fire type attacks will do nothing to starmie."  
"I won't even need fire attacks! Spud's strong enough on his own!"  
"Whatever. Starmie! Water pulse!"  
Starmie shot out a massive pulse of water at Spud, but as it drew colser, he leaped off to the side.  
"What?! He's a quick one!"  
"That's right! Spud! Take it down!"  
Spud launched into a full tackle at the starmie, knocking it down. As it made impact ont he ground, Spud rolled over the front. Starmie looked quite damaged by the attack.  
"Well here's something he can't dodge! Starmie, use swift!"  
The starmie released star shaped energy rays and they flew towards Spud. He ran around the gym, but the stars kept chasing him down, until eventually, they hit him.  
"There's no escape!"  
"Yeah, but Spud's tough! And I know he can win! So that's why he's going to use take down again!"  
Spud got up quickly, keeping it's momentum. It charged toward the starmie and leapt at it, crashing into it horribly. It sent it smashing into the wall. When Spud rolled over and staggeringly stood up, Richard and Misty could see that the starmie was beat. Misty was absolutely astounded.  
"Wow! You're too much! A fire type, beating starmie? All right! You can have the Cascade Badge to show you beat me!"  
"Yes!" Shouted Richard as he ran towards Misty, holding out a blue badge shaped like a droplet.  
"Thank you!" exclaimed Richard as he ran for the door. Before he reached it, a man standing beside the statue spoke to him.  
"Hey! You beat Misty!"  
"Sure did!"  
"Tell you what, you should head to Saffron City next! It's just south of here!"  
"Thanks!"  
"Good luck!"  
Richard headed to the Pokecenter to heal up before heading back to the hotel. 


End file.
